“There is a huge glut of homes in the country, and Hong Kongers are purchasing only a small fraction of this glut. It will not affect the overall oversupply situation in the residential market.”

“They are also discerning buyers who have many friends, relatives and business associates in Malaysia, so they will check and compare the prices before buying.”

He added that these buyers are not given any special treatment compared to local buyers, as they are being offered the same packages and discounts in the luxury market.

Juwai.com, the top Chinese international real estate portal, said that the number of locals seeking police checks grew 48%.

“These ‘good citizenship’ documents certifying that they do not have a criminal record are crucial to enable them to apply for the Malaysia My Second Home Programme (MM2H) and other foreign visas. Applications increased 12% in June, 41% in July and 48% in the first two weeks of August,” said the portal’s executive chairman Georg Chmiel.

“This is evident that many Hong Kongers truly are seeking to move to Malaysia for work or education. This will inevitably create new economic ties between Malaysia and Greater China.”

He cautioned though, that the data does not show people are applying for these checks solely for foreign visa application purposes, nor specifically that all are seeking visas for Malaysia.

Chmiel did add that it is rare to seek the checks for any other purpose, and Malaysia seems to be the Hong Kong buyer’s top destination.

With that, he hopes to see improvement on the delays in clearing visa applications and the lack of information on when new MM2H applications will be approved.

“We hope that with the upcoming Budget 2020, set to be announced in October, the government will look into reviewing the scheme to make it more appealing so that it can contribute to Malaysia’s international image and its future economic growth,” he said.

“Malaysia is a great investment destination, yet fewer than three percent of Malaysian properties are owned by foreign buyers. There is great potential to lure more investors and residents to grow the economy and ease the current glut in the property sector.”